The APPEAR Project

The APPEAR (Ancient Panel Paintings: Examination, Analysis, and Research) Project investigates ancient panel paintings to increase the understanding of their materials and manufacture. Launched by the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Department of Antiquities Conservation in 2013, this international collaboration addresses the multitude of questions that surround ancient panel paintings—primarily mummy portraits, as well as related artifacts including shrouds, shrines, and complete portrait mummies.

Ancient mummy portraits are unique examples of paintings that survive from Roman-era Egypt. Portraits of the deceased that were executed on wooden panels and incorporated into the wrappings of mummified human remains, they combine the technical methods and style of Greco-Roman culture with the ritual function of Egyptian funerary tradition over 2,500 years old. Roughly 1,000 mummy portraits are housed in collections around the world today. While they first attracted attention in the nineteenth century, only a handful have undergone full and rigorous technical investigation exploring how they were made. Much remains to be learned about these ancient art works and their influence on succeeding painting traditions.

APPEAR was designed with a highly collaborative approach to encourage scholarly examination and support the exchange of technical data and discoveries. Participating institutions from around the world provide resources and the expertise of conservators, art historians, artists, and material and imaging scientists. Each institution researches their collections and contributes results to a shared database, which promotes comparison between the artifacts and helps develop a broader understanding of the production, materials, and workshop and artistic practices that created ancient panel paintings. This approach makes the APPEAR Project a proven model for cultural heritage research in the twenty-first century.

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Conference

Marking the end of the first phase of APPEAR, a public, two-day conference was held May 17-18, 2018 at the Getty Villa. Presentations by project participants highlighted the collaborative work, investigations, observations, and data collected to date.

Project Database

The APPEAR database currently includes historic, technical, and analytical information about ancient panel paintings. Participating institutions have used examination techniques that include (but are not limited to):

Featured Video

http://www.getty.edu/iris/video/mummyportrait_26132484876.mp4
Showing the promise of the APPEAR Project for answering questions about mummy paintings, technical investigations of Mummy Portrait of a Bearded Man in the Getty Museum's collection have uncovered painted details and underdrawing that are invisible to the naked eye, as well as discovered unique pigment mixtures were used to produce the perfect colors. This clip shows the portrait under visible light, x-radiograph, ultraviolet light, and infrared light. (Video courtesy of Giacomo Chiari.)

Featured Blog Post

New Directions for Research on Ancient Romano-Egyptian Panel Paintings

Approximately 1,000 mummy portraits survive from antiquity. Originally buried with the mummified bodies of the deceased, these ancient paintings bring modern viewers face to face with people who lived in Roman Egypt 2,000 years ago. ... Read more

Banner caption: (left) Mummy Portrait of a Woman (81.AP.42) being analyzed using a macro-X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scanner. (center) Detail of same artwork under visible light. (right) Detail of XRF map of same artwork revealing the distribution and relative concentration of lead-based pigments used in painting the portrait (red areas indicate high levels, blue low). Analysis and imaging by the Getty Conservation Institute.